Mirror Maze
by TheKawaiifan
Summary: The local mirror maze used to be simple and harmless fun. However, many people who've went in have not come out. Even the ones who do eventually return seem much too traumatized to describe what they saw. For his blog, Ronaldo decides to investigate with the help of the Crystal Gems to both explain the phenomena, and to rescue those who are still trapped inside. Possible TW
1. Chapter 1

"Alright, is the camera on?"

"Yeah, I think it is…"

"Ok then. Hello and welcome back to 'Keep Beach City Weird'. I'm you're host Ronaldo, and tonight we will be investigating a very weird and mysterious place: the Mirror Maze!" the teenager announced, his camera panning over to the attraction.

"Sure, it may seem like just your ordinary amusement park attraction, but there is actually something more going on here" the host forwarned. "You see, there is actually a really good reason why this place had been shut down recently. Once upon a time this was just a normal maze made of mirrors, but then people who went in would never return. And even the few who do return are too traumatized to talk about their experiences"

"So naturally, we are going to investigate the place tonight. Now, I know what you're thinking: 'but Ronaldo! How do you intend to survive such an experience!?' Well, no need to worry my dear viewers: I never said I was going in alone"

"…I said, 'I never said I was going in alone'" he called again after a moment of silence.

"I think that was our queue!" someone off camera whisper shouted.

Walking on screen was a group of 5. "HELLO. WE ARE THE CRYSTAL GEMS" one announced. The group introduced themselves one after the other.

"Garnet!"

"Amethyst!"

"Pearl!"

"And Steven!" the pudgy boy waved on camera enthusiastically. They all then looked over to a final green member expectantly.

"….*sigh*,…and Peridot" she finally introduced, almost in shame.

"The Crystal Gems are all local heroes in our city, and they are here to help me in my investigation. I'm sure that whatever is in their, they can handle it" Ronaldo explained to the camera.

"I thought we were here to help save people" Amethyst questioned.

"That too"

"And if things should get out of hand, I will have my brother here escape with the camera and turn the in the footage to the police so they can break us out"

"This is a very bad idea, Ronaldo" Peedee piped in.

"Shush! The cameraman isn't supposed to speak!"

"Anyways," Pearl spoke. "There are allot of people who are still in here, so we have to cover allot of ground. I suggest we take the buddy system"

The group proceeded to pair up. Garnet would defend the Fryman boys, Pearl decided to go with Steven and Peridot was paired with Amethyst.

"Alright, looks like everyone has their buddy. We're going in"


	2. Chapter 2

"Let's do this!" Amethyst cheered, already charging straight in. It didn't take very long for her to slam into a mirror. "Nnnngh" Amethyst groaned as she plopped down to the ground. She held her head in pain; an image multiplied by the cracks she left in the mirror.

"Well, at least we know we were here" Peridot said dryly, acknowledging the convenient mark.

"Hey! Hey Peridot!" she recovered quick. "Check this out!" her body glowed a purple light, changing form. Amethyst shapeshifted into a series of animals, playing around with all the reflections.

"Nyehehehehe" Peridot laughed along, the two shorter gems having a good time.

"I hope you two are taking this seriously" Pearl chimed from nearby. Amethyst and Peridot gleamed with the most innocent smiles.

"We are"

They're not.

The groups having split up, Peridot and Amethyst were left to wander together. This involved Amethyst crashing into mirrors many times. "Oww" she whined, clutching her throbbing head.

"Pssh! Amethyst, you can't just blindly charge in like that" Peridot scolded condescendingly. "Navigating a structure like this requires extreme caution, attention to detail and full awareness of your surround-EEH!" she collided with a mirror face-first mid-monologue. Peridot fell over to the ground. Amethyst started laughing at how the tides had been turned.

Looking up, Peridot took a glance at her reflection. What she saw made her eyes widen. "A-Amethyst!" she cried out, backing away in hysteria. According to the image in the mirror, Peridot's gem was cracked.

"Peridot, what's wrong? You're acting like Pearl during her freakouts" Amethyst quipped, oblivious to her teammate's situation.

"Can't you see!?" Peridot turned around, pointing to her forehead. "My gem is cracked. It's going to get bigger, I will be unable to function properly and then I will shatter!" she explained, quickly descending into madness. Peridot curled up on the floor shakily. "I don't wanna shatter..." she groaned.

"What're you even talking about, your gem is fine" Amethyst said simply, confused by the technician's behavior.

"Don't lie to me!" Peridot sprung back up, getting all up in Amethyst's face. Reading her expression, Amethyst could see just how terrified Peridot was. She truly believed that she was fatally wounded. Realizing that words alone wouldn't convince her, Amethyst decided to try a different tactic.

"I'm not lying. Your gem is perfectly fine. Don't believe me?" she removed Peridot's visor. "Check it out for yourself"

Peridot felt up her forehead, just as told. She wasn't lying. Her gem really was just fine. It felt just as it always has. The same smooth glassy surface, the same cuts and ridges, the same triangular shape. Most importantly, there were no foreign dents or cracks or scratches. It was just as hard and durable as it had always been.

Amethyst handed over the surprisingly thick visor back to Peridot. "C'mon nerd, we need to keep moving"

Peridot felt so dumbfounded and confused; and maybe a little embarrassed. Looking at her reflection in the visor, her gem really was in perfect condition. But, she swore that her gem was cracked. She saw it with her own eyes. Was she crazy? Has all her time on earth driven her to madness? What even led her to such a delusion?

Realizing that she didn't have time to ponder this, Peridot slipped her visor back on and followed Amethyst.

* * *

 **Fun fact: Peridot was originally going to land on top of Amethyst cuz I'm trash**


End file.
